closely missed

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "closely missed" is correct and can be used in written English.
It is often used to describe a situation where something almost happened or someone was almost successful in achieving something. Example: The football team closely missed their chance at winning the championship when their star player got injured in the final game.

✓ Grammatically correct

Wikipedia

Cell Communication and Signaling

The New York Times - Sports

The New York Times

University of California, Berkeley

The New Yorker

Huffington Post

Forbes

The Guardian

WikiHow

Independent

Vice

Journal of Dairy Science

eLife

Environmental Health Perspectives

Los Angeles Times

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

Plosone

British Journal of Cancer

BMC Evolutionary Biology

BMC Genomics

Database : the journal of biological databases and curation

TechCrunch

HuffPost

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

It closely missed Lightoller and created a wave that washed the boat 50 yards clear of the sinking ship.

Wikipedia

However, quantification of these cells showed that the HB-EGF but not the EGF effect closely missed statistical significance.

Cell Communication and Signaling

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

58 human-written examples

He did not follow the Yanks closely and missed 118 games, but he noticed something special about this team when he finally rejoined them.

The New York Times - Sports

I.R.S. officials are quick to point out that they have worked closely with missing children's advocates in some areas.

The New York Times

Additionally, I suspected that many students would not take the time to examine their corrected quizzes closely, thereby missing the opportunity to identify gaps in their knowledge before the exam.

University of California, Berkeley

Bryant, guarded closely by Gill, missed the rim on a wild 3-pointer as time expired.

The New York Times - Sports

I hadn't been following matters that closely, so I had missed exactly when things had taken a turn.

The New Yorker

If you weren't listening closely you might have missed it but last week, at the Democratic national convention, Vice President Joe Biden gave a major diss to the private military and security contracting (PMSC) industry.

Huffington Post

Whether it's the dystopian future politics, the attractive actors, or the tween bloodbath that attracted people is still unclear -- but if you weren't watching closely, you might have missed a surprise cameo during the movie's talk show scenes.

Huffington Post

I looked more closely and saw missing patches of hair under his hat.

The New York Times

Even when it looks closely, YouTube can miss videos with fake views.

The New York Times - Tech

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "closely missed" when you want to emphasize the narrow margin by which something was avoided or not achieved. It adds a sense of near success or failure to your writing.

Common error

Be aware that while similar, "closely missed" focuses on the small margin of failure. "Narrowly missed" often implies a successful avoidance of something negative. Choose the phrase that best reflects the outcome you want to emphasize.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "closely missed" functions as an adverbial modifier followed by a verb. It describes the manner in which an event or outcome was nearly achieved but ultimately fell short. As confirmed by Ludwig AI, the expression is grammatically correct and suitable for use in written English.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

30%

Science

30%

Wiki

10%

Less common in

Formal & Business

10%

Academia

10%

Reference

10%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "closely missed" is a grammatically sound phrase used to express that something nearly happened or succeeded but ultimately didn't. According to Ludwig AI, its usage is correct in written English. Although "closely missed" is not as frequent as other similar expressions, it is versatile enough to be used in news, scientific writing, or general contexts. When using this phrase, remember to choose it when you want to emphasize the narrow margin of failure or avoidance.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

narrowly avoided

Emphasizes the act of successfully preventing something undesirable from happening by a small margin.

just missed

Highlights the minimal distance or time separating the event from succeeding.

barely missed

Similar to "just missed", stresses the slim margin of the miss.

nearly missed

Emphasizes how close the event was to not happening.

came close to missing

Focuses on the process and the proximity to failing to hit a target.

almost failed to

Shifts the focus slightly to the potential failure rather than the close call.

fell just short of

Highlights the failure to reach a specific goal or standard by a small amount.

escaped by a hair's breadth

Uses an idiom to convey a very narrow escape from missing.

missed by a whisker

Another idiomatic expression emphasizing a very small margin of error.

marginally failed to

More formal and emphasizes the slightness of the failure.

FAQs

How can I use "closely missed" in a sentence?

You can use "closely missed" to describe situations where something almost happened or someone almost succeeded. For instance, "The company "closely missed" its earnings target this quarter."

What are some alternatives to using the phrase "closely missed"?

Alternatives include phrases such as "narrowly avoided", "just missed", or "barely missed", depending on the specific context.

Is "closely missed" grammatically correct?

Yes, "closely missed" is grammatically correct. It functions as an adverb modifying a verb, describing the manner in which something was missed.

What's the difference between "closely missed" and "narrowly avoided"?

"Closely missed" typically implies that something desirable was almost achieved, but wasn't. In contrast, "narrowly avoided" suggests that something undesirable was successfully avoided by a small margin.